


Take My Hand and Learn to Dance

by mnm_moons



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Thomas Sanders
Genre: "in love and in pain", AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ballroom AU, Ballroom Dancing, Classy AU, Dancer AU, Fluff, Heartbreak, Human AU, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, Mayhaps, Moving On, and roman is too but like a lot worst, anyway thats it, because im classy, hes a good dance instructor, i guess, i mean what even is a happy ending, i think, idk - Freeform, im in trouble, it would be a shame if something were to happen to him, learning, literally fight me, literally started writing this like four months ago lmao, needless angst, needless fluff followed by ruthless angst, ooh thats a good title, or maybe better, perhaps, roman is a boye and he is very talented, someone write that down, tw death, virgil is also kinda dead inside in one part, virgils in love and in pain, wait actually nevermind im trademarking that, what is time management, you cant prove that im not so i am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 18:20:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18628699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mnm_moons/pseuds/mnm_moons
Summary: Roman had taught Virgil many things.He taught him to dance. He taught him to love. He taught him to grieve.And now, he was teaching him to move on.





	Take My Hand and Learn to Dance

**Author's Note:**

> i'll have you know that i started writing this roughly four months ago, had a breakdown, and abandoned it until now. thank you very much, i promise you i am a writer.

"It's easy."

"Easy for you to say."

Roman let out a breathy laugh, the melodic sound echoing across the empty studio. He swept a tan hand through his hazelnut hair, rolling those honey brown eyes like he always did before bringing them to meet Virgil's own ebony ones.

"Come on," Roman beckoned, trying his best at begging eyes. "It's just a dance."

Virgil sighed, cheeks flushing. He groaned, but the grin on his lips suggested his annoyance was faked. "Fine."

Roman beamed, glowing in the dim lighting. "Take your position then," he instructed. "In front of me."

The shorter man followed the instructions, standing in front of Roman with his back straightened up, standing tall despite still being a few inches shorter than Roman himself.

"I'll put my right hand here...." Roman's calloused hands brushed Virgil's thin dress shirt, hands settling on Virgil's upper back softly. "And you do the same with your right hand."

Carefully, Virgil guided his left arm above Roman's position right arm and set it down near his partner's neck, holding his breath. Roman smiled at him reassuringly. 

"Now raise your right hand."

Virgil did. Without a word, Roman's own hand entwined with his, warm and rough. The taller of the two said nothing, but his eyes silently asked, _Is this okay?_

Virgil nodded. Roman grinned.

"All right," he continued. "Everything after this is going to be in the same, repeating six steps, okay? Nothing too hard."

Virgil nodded, although his main focus wasn't Roman's instructions but rather his words. There was something about Roman's lips that could capture Virgil's attention in two seconds flat. 

"Right foot forward." 

Or maybe it wasn't the words coming out of Roman's lips that captivated the younger man. Maybe it was Roman's lips in general. Could you blame him, though? They tasted like cherry lipgloss and strawberries. Sickly sweet but addictive all the while. 

"Left foot forward, but leave space between them."

Of course, there were more parts of Roman's face Virgil loved. There was his eyes. Those young, chestnut orbs that sparkled golden under light was going to be Virgil's downfall, no doubt. 

"Slide your right to your left."

And his dimples. Two little holes that appeared when Roman smiled in the best way. He loved it when the dimples showed. He loved it when Roman smiled. 

"Left foot forward."

Not to mention those eyelashes. Those long and delicate eyelashes. Virgil was a sucker for those eyelashes. One bat of an eye and he was Roman's to boss around. And yeah, sure, maybe Virgil let his boyfriend get away with more things than he should. 

"Right foot next to your left with space."

_Nothing could be more beautiful than Roman._

"Slide your left foot to your right."

Virgil's footing was sloppy, and his hands threatened to fall from Roman's back, but he couldn't help but smile when Roman beamed, saying, "And if you notice, dear heart, we're back to where we started."

A crooked grin wormed its way on Virgil's mouth. "And we just repeat?" 

"Exactly."

"Seems simple enough."

"That's because it is."

"I guess so."

"You wanna try again?"

"Sure."

And so they did. Roman held Virgil's hand softly, and Virgil responded in turn by grinning and squeezing Roman's hand with his. Hands in position and footing in the correct place, they danced the simple waltz, slowly inching closer and closer before somehow ending up with Virgil's head resting on Roman's shoulder.

But still, they danced.

"Virgil."

Virgil's eyes were closed, letting Roman guide him instead of his own eyes. "Hm?"

"You know I love you, right?" Roman's voice was low and quiet, calm and serene.

Virgil let out a low laugh. "I'd be concerned if you didn't."

Roman chuckled at that. "Of course," he agreed. Virgil felt Roman's hand tighten his grip around his own. Virgil tensed, suddenly sensing something wrong. 

"Why?" he asked apprehensively. 

"It's nothing," Roman assured, but his grip around Virgil's hand still continued to tighten as if Virgil's hand was the only thing tethering the clearly distressed man onto reality. 

Virgil pulled back, disrupting their repetitive waltz in frantic anxiety. "Is there something wrong?" Dark ebony eyes stared deep into warm caramel ones, filled with worry and concern.

Roman gave Virgil the lightest of smiles. "Of course not, love."

"You're not just saying that to not hurt my feelings, right?"

"I'm saying it because it's true. Nothing's wrong."

Roman took Virgil's hand again, but instead of placing his other arm on Virgil's shoulder like before, he placed it on Virgil's waist. Unconvinced but calm, Virgil warily placed his head on the crook of Roman's neck again. 

"But, there is something I need to tell you."

Those words alone were enough to make Virgil tense up all over again. The worried man stayed silent, but his movements were tense and mechanical, losing their elegance. Roman took his silence as a gesture to continue.

"You have to learn how to live without me."

Virgil paused. Roman seperated from his partner, this time with sad eyes and a sad smile. Tears threatened to spill out his caramel eyes. Virgil froze up, his own tears welling up his eyes. "R-Roman?"

"It's been three months Virgil. You have to let me go and live your own life."

Virgil's mind felt something tug at his memories. Roman continued to speak with fake confidence, trying and failing to hide his sadness behind a watery smile. "You learned this dance almost five years ago, dear heart. I taught you this when we first met. Hell, you're an even better dancer than I was."

 _Was,_ Virgil noted Roman's words.  _Not am. Was._

His head began to ache. Distant memories resurfaced, only helping the painful pounding in his temples. Virgil's eyebrows furrowed as his eyes shut in pain. "What are you saying?" he heard the desperation in his own voice.

Roman merely sighed. "I know how painful it's been for you, my dark and stormy knight," Roman began, sighing deeply and averting eye contact. "But you're wasting too much of your life dwelling on my death already."

Roman continued to talk. Virgil knew he was talking. He saw Roman's mouth moving. But he couldn't listen. Everything was a dull silence since the word death.

Death? Did Roman die? 

Virgil remembered small things. Virgil remembered learning to dance for the first time. He remembered learning much more than to dance. He remembered learning to love, learning to... learning to grieve.

He remembered learning about the car crash. 

He remembered throwing the first rose of many down the deep grave.

He remembered sleepless nights spent crying on clothes worn by Roman that would never be worn again.

He remembered several phone calls from his friends, begging for him to leave the house. He remembered the desperate plea in their voices. They were worried.

But Roman's lifeless body, pale and cold. He would never forget that, and he wished he didn't remember.

In front of Virgil, the Roman he'd been dancing with had stopped talking and was instead smiling sadly down at Virgil. "You have to--"

"wake up! Virgil I swear to god, if you don't wake up, I'm going to throw you to the sun!"

Virgil's eyes opened groggily, the sudden brightness peircing his vision, a huge contrast between the dark familiarity of the ballroom and the harsh and bright reality of the king bed he used to share with Roman.

In front of him sat Remy, his friend for years and years to come, with crossed arms and an exasperated expression. Virgil groaned, sitting up while ignoring the pounding in his head. It was only then when Virgil sat up that saw Dee, another of his friends leaning against the door frame of his bedroom. 

Virgil opened his mouth to speak, but before he could even utter a word, Remy cut him off. "Okay, before you say anything, yes, we broke into your house, and yes, I am paying for the broken window."

"Broken what-?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm paying for it."

Virgil let himself fall back down on the mattress, groaning to himself when the force hurt his head. 

Roman's face kept coming back to him, clear as crystal. Roman's voice taught him the waltz, Roman's voice pleaded for him to live again.

"So," Remy continued, "you've been cooped up in this house for a few... months now and—"

"You wanna go see a movie?" Virgil blurted out, a voice in his head chanting, _For Roman, for Roman_. "There was a movie wasn't there? That avengers movie? You wanna go see that? I'll see that. Right now. We should... go out and see that."

With a new sense of purpose he hadn't felt since Roman, Virgil grinned tiredly. 

Remy blinked. Dee blinked. They looked at each other and blinked. "Getting you out of the house was easier than we thought...." they admitted.

Virgil laughed hollowly. _For Roman. He wants me to live_. "Yeah. You wanna go right now? Let me brush my hair and get ready."

Dee raised an eyebrow. "Why the sudden energy?" he asked.

Virgil shrugged, sighing a bittersweet sigh. "I just... I don't think Roman would have... wanted me to waste my life."

Virgil looked at his hands. 

_He taught me to dance. He taught me to love. He taught me to grieve._

Virgil smiled. "Even after death he has to make it all about him," Virgil joked. "What a bitch."

_And now, he's teaching me to move on._

**Author's Note:**

> this was,,, actually pretty nice to look back and read. im proud of romans description as told by virgil and im happy with how it turned out. the endings bugging me a little but,,, well what can you do.
> 
> if you want to scream at me, hit me up on tumblr, but also please considering following me on there too!! just search up @skittlesun or use this link https://skittlesun.tumblr.com ! 
> 
> thanks babes ily very much  
> drink some water and get to sleep loves  
> -alex


End file.
